School of Labor and Employment Relations | University of Illinois

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Current Students

LER Courses

The School of Labor and Employment Relations is a freestanding graduate program that offers an excellent interdisciplinary education in employment relations. We interact with faculty in psychology, law, business administration, human resource education, and economics with regard to classes and professional resources. Many of our professors have joint appointments in these departments. This allows for flexibility in our curriculum and it gives the students the ability to individually tailor their program of study.

To receive a Master's in human resources and industrial relations (M.H.R.I.R.), students must complete a 48 hour program. Many of the classes available to LER students are cross-listed with other programs. Our students graduate from our program with a well-rounded education that has exposed them to a variety of ideas and disciplines. Additionally, many of our classes require the students to work in teams and make presentations. Our students gain not only knowledge in our program, but also the skills necessary to make them valuable additions to your organization.

Below is a listing of courses that fall under each of the different subject distribution areas. Scroll down to find a numerically ordered list of course descriptions of our required and elective classes. Students usually take 4 courses per semester. Additionally, most students find an internship during the summer to utilize the knowledge and skills that they have learned in the classroom. Among the 48 hours of course work, there are three required courses:

Additionally, one course in each subject distribution area is required. The four subject distribution areas below are: Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior, Union Management and Labor Relations Policy, Labor Markets and Employment and International Human Resource Management. The five remaining electives can be tailored to suit the student's particular interests and career aspirations.

Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior

Labor Markets and Employment

Unions, Management, and Labor Relations Policy

International Human Resource Management

Other LER Courses

LER Course Descriptions

412. ECONOMICS OF POVERTY. Same as Economics 412. Analysis of the nature and causes of poverty with special emphasis on critical evaluation of programs to combat poverty in the United States. Prerequisite: Economics 102 and 103 or equivalent. 3 undergrad hours; 2 or 4 grad hours.

434. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS. Same as Finance 434. Studies the structure and financial issues involved in employee benefit plans, specifically group life, disability medical care plans, qualified pensions and profit-sharing plans. Prerequisite: Finance 230, Economics 340, or Business Administration 313, or graduate standing. 3 undergrad hours; 3 or 4 grad hours.

440. ECONOMICS OF LABOR MARKETS. Same as Economics 440. A study of the microeconomic determinants of labor demand and supply, economic effects of unions, and macroeconomic labor market problems. Prerequisite: Economics 302 or equivalent. 3 undergrad hours; 2 to 4 grad hours.

450. EUROPEAN WORKING CLASS HISTORY, 1750 TO THE PRESENT. Same as History 450 and Sociology 422. Comparative study of the rise of the working class in European countries; formation, culture and daily life; stratification with the working class; workers in organized labor and revolutionary movements. Prerequisite: One year of college history or consent of the instructor. 3 undergrad hours; 2 or 4 grad hours.

480. U.S.WORK CLASS HISTORY SINCE 1780. Same as History 480. Focuses on working class formation, culture, ideas, and organization; examines daily experience of work and community life; special emphasis on race, ethnicity, and gender in the process of class formation; labor relations and the changing patterns of working class protest and accommodation. Prerequisite: One year of college level history or consent of instructor. 3 undergrad hours; 2 or 5 grad hours.

522. GOVERNMENT REGULATION. Focuses on federal and state legislation, court and agency rulings, and executive orders that regulate a wide range of private and public employment practices including: Title VII and Affirmative Action Compliance; American with Disabilities Act; drug-, HIV-, and genetic testing; Fair Labor Standards Act; Civil Service procedures; Equal Pay Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and employment-at-will; constitutional protection for employees, job-applicants, and others. Prerequisite: Labor and Industrial Relations 547 or 591, or consent of instructor. 4 grad hours.

530. FOUNDATIONS OF INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY. Same as Psychology 530. Theoretical and empirical foundations of various content areas in industrial-organizational psychology; sample topics include employee selection and placement, training, human factors engineering, work motivation, employee attitudes, leadership, and organizational theory. Prerequisite: Twelve hours of psychology or consent of instructor. 4 grad hours.

535. MOTIVATION AND MORALE IN INDUSTRY. Same as Psychology 535. Concepts and methods in the study of motivation of employees; determinants of employee attitudes and job satisfaction; and modification of attitudes and morale. Prerequisite: 16 hours of graduate credit in Psychology or consent of instructor. 4 hours.

540. LABOR ECONOMICS. Same as Economics 440. Survey of recent trends in the labor force, of real and money earnings, and of the distribution of national income used as the basis for a critical economic analysis of contemporary English and American wage theory. Prerequisite: Economics 302 and 303. 4 hours.

541. LABOR ECONOMICS. Same as Economics 541. Economic issues and implications involved in hours of work, employment and unemployment, and trade union institutionalism (the impact of the trade union upon the basic institution of a free enterprise economy); emphasis in all cases on the development of appropriate public policy. Prerequisite: Economics 302 and 303. 4 hours.

542. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. Same as Economics 542. Examination of: social values and social science concepts to develop a framework for explaining the basis and shape of collective bargaining as it has been practiced in the United States; government and law, unions, and employers as part of the development of this framework; the environment of collective bargaining with respect to the role of economics and bargaining structure; the negotiating process as the interactive basis for union-management relations; conflict and conflict resolution as part of the negotiating process; wage and other effects of collective bargaining as bargaining outcomes; contemporary changes in union management relations. Case materials and exercises may be used to supplement course materials. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. 4 hours. Graduate credit is not given for both Economics 343 and LER 542.

543. WORKPLACE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. Same as Economics 543 and Law 665. Examination of the use of procedures to resolve employment disputes in both union and nonunion workplaces; comparative analysis of grievance arbitration, interest arbitration, mediation, fact-finding, and combinations of these procedures; special emphasis given to the role of third party intervention. 3 professional hours; 4 grad hours. Professional credit only applicable to Law 665.

545. ECONOMICS OF HUMAN RESOURCES. Same as Human Resource Education 534. A study of the economics of personnel with the modern corporation. Topics include hiring, promotion, evaluation, discrimination, raiding, job definition, pay schemes, benefits, and design of work. Prerequisite: LER 593 or equivalent or consent of the instructor. 4 hours.

547. LABOR LAW I. Same as Law 662. A study of the National Labor Relations Act as amended, the pre-act history of the labor movement, and the judiciary's response thereto, with emphasis on understanding the problems, experiments, and forces leading to the enactment; includes the negotiation and administration of the collective bargaining agreement, especially the grievance arbitration procedure, its operation and place in national labor policy; and explores the relationship of the individual and the union. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or completion of first year of Law curriculum. 3 or 4 professional hours or 4 grad hours.

548. TOPICS IN PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT. Same as Business Administration 511. Examines the organization and administration of the personnel function in management; the relations of personnel administration to operating departments and the scope of business and industrial personnel services; analytical appraisal of policies and practices in selected areas of personnel administration, such as selection and training, carried out through case studies and direct industrial contracts; and specific consideration given to problems up to and including placing the person on a job. Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor. 4 hours.

551. LABOR LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY. Same as Law 360. Analyzes current major policy issues in labor relations and employment law through the concepts and techniques of the lawyer and the labor relations specialist. Prerequisite: For law students, LAW 662 or consent of instructor; for LER students: one semester of LER course work or consent of instructor. 3 professional hours; 4 grad hours.

554. COMPARATIVE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS SYSTEMS. Same as Law 666. Examines employment systems in selected developed, newly industrialized, and developing economies. Explores employment systems in the context of regional and political integration. Topics include the organization and policies of unions and employers, as well as management-labor relations, and the roles of firms, national governments, and international organizations in shaping employment systems. Emphasis will be placed on the analytical tools needed to make multi-country comparisons, to link theory and practice, and to understand the reasons for major changes in the nature of employment relations. 3 professional hours; 4 grad hours. Professional credit only applicable to Law 666.

556. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS THEORY, I. An integrated analysis of the principles of labor and industrial relations through the study of the works of the major theorists and their critics. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. 4 credit hours.

557. INDUSTRIAL REALTIONS THEORY, II. Continuation of LER 556. Focuses on contemporary research in human research management and related fields. 4 grad hours.

558. STUDENT-FACULTY WORKSHOP. Training and experience for Ph.D. students in the application of social science and industrial relations theory and research methodology to contemporary industrial relations problems through presentation and discussion of faculty and student research. Ph.D. students are required to make presentations and to participate in workshop discussions during the entire period of their campus residency. 4 hours. Approved for both letter and S/U grading.

559. MICRO RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCESSES. The purpose of this course is to provide doctoral students a foundation for conducting independent, scholarly micro research (i.e., individuals or small groups as the primary unit of analysis) by addressing the components of the research process. This foundation for conducting independent research is based on the research process as an open system of interconnected choices that unfold sequentially: (1) Choosing and Framing a Research Question, (2) Choosing an Hypothesis to Address the Research Question, (3) Choosing a Strategy and Design, (4) Choosing Modes for Treating Constructs, (5) Choosing Forms for Converting Data into Observations, (6) Choosing Procedures to Analyze Data, and (7) Choosing Conclusions for Interpreting Results. 4 grad hours.

561. COMPENSATION SYSTEMS. Compensation theory and practice. This course addresses the theoretical and practical issues associated with the design of effective compensation systems. The design phases include establishing internal equity, external equity, and individual equity. Budgeting and administration are also addressed. Case analyses and computer simulations may be used to supplement course materials. 4 grad hours.

562. HUMAN RESOURCES PLANNING AND STAFFING. Examines conceptual issues, policies and practices relating to the attraction, selection, development, and planning for the most effective utilization of human resources. 4 grad hours.

563. HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS. Design, implementation, and evaluation of human resource information systems (HRIS). Topics to be covered include fundamental database characteristics, information systems and management processes, systems analysis and needs assessment in Human Resources and Industrial Relations departments, implementing HRI systems, the use of HRI systems to solve organizational problems, information systems and labor relations. A series of cases and computer exercises, which will play a major role in determining the course grade, will be used. Regular seminars and some laboratory sessions will be scheduled throughout the semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Labor and Industrial Relations or consent of instructor. 4 hours.

564. HUMAN RESOURCE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT. Examination of: theories of behavioral change; application of these theories to training needs, especially with reference to the internationalization of business, changes in labor demand, demographic trends in the United States, and increasing work force diversification; advantages and disadvantages of the various training and development techniques; relation of training to organizational strategies; methods of training evaluation. Special attention is given to the need for and methods of cross-cultural training. Students develop training exercises for class presentation and participation. 2 grad hours.

565. HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGY. Same as Business Administration 512. Designed to provide integration across the specific functional areas of the human resources management (HRM) field, while at the same time demonstrating the linkages horizontally within HRM and vertically with strategic management of the firm. This case-focused course places emphasis on human resources issues of strategic importance to the organization. Prerequisite: One prior course from the Organizational Behavior and Personnel Management distribution subject area list (in the M.H.R.I.R. degree requirements for the graduate degree in LER). 4 grad hours.

566. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. Human Resource management issues examined from the perspective of the multinational firm. Topics include globalization and human resource strategy, management and the structure of multinational firms, dealing with intercultural differences, selecting employees for foreign assignments, training and developing expatriate employees, evaluation and compensation of employees in international assignments. Individual and group projects. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. 4 grad hours.

567. NEGOTIATION IN HUMAN RESOURCE DECISIONS. General survey course concerning the strategies and tactics of bargaining and negotiation, with special emphasis on applications in human resource management contexts. Topics covered will include: the structure of negotiated outcomes; integrative bargaining tactics; distributive bargaining tactics; negotiation planning; power, persuasion and influence; communication; negotiating in teams and groups; negotiating using 3rd parties (arbitrators, mediators, agents); cross-cultural negotiations. Students will discuss negotiation issues and build negotiation skills through a series of experiential exercises and cases. Credit is not given for both this course and MBA 505 (Sections W1 and W2: Managerial Negotiations). Prerequisite: Graduate standing. An introductory course in social psychology or organizational behavior is preferred but not required.2 grad hours (Eight week course). Students may not receive credit for both this course and Master of B ADM 505 (Section J: Managerial Negotiations.).

568. FIRM PERFORMANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. The purpose of this course is to enable student to understand some basic ideas about and measures of firm performance with heavy emphasis on the role of human resource managers. Students will gain an understanding of how human resource professionals fit into the organization, structure, and function of business firms. Many basic ideas from the field of finance will be studied. The course covers theoretical ideas and has many empirical, policy, and practitioner-relevant applications, all with the goal of providing human resource managers fundamental financial analysis tools to enable them to function effectively in their post-graduate corporate workplaces. 4 grad hours.

569. POWER AND INFLUENCE FOR HRM. This course explores what HR managers need to know to overcome resistance to change, deal with the inevitable stresses associated with change, and implement appropriate change strategies. Topics covered include: (1) assessing bases of power and influence; (2) practicing diagnostic skills to understand behavior in an organizational context; (3) building effective work relationships, both in groups and on a one-to-one basis; and (4) leadership, in terms of alignment, organizational change, and learning to lead. 4 grad hours.

590A. INDIVIDUAL TOPICS. Students in labor and industrial relations may register for this unit with the consent of their curriculum adviser and the adviser under whom the student will perform individual study of research. Such individual work may include special study in a subject matter for which no course is available or an individual research project, including on-the-job research in industry, which is not being undertaken for a thesis. 0 to 8 grad hours.

590CB. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT. The course examines collective bargaining in the context of professional sports and entertainment. Collective bargaining laws and public policies will serve as a backdrop for understanding terms and conditions of employment for professional athletes and entertainers. Topics will include antitrust law, the National Labor Relations Act as it pertains to the duty to bargain, strikes, and lockouts; current issues in testing for steroids and performance enhancers; “baseball arbitration”; the Writers’ Guild Strike of 2007-08, and others. Simulations of mediation and arbitration will be included, and will be part of a series of weekly writing assignments. The course complements, but does not substantially overlap with, Collective Bargaining. Students who have taken that course are welcomed; and students with no prior background in collective bargaining are also encouraged to enroll. 4 grad hours.

590CG. Human Resources and Corporate Governance. This course enables students to understand the many connections between the HR function in a large corporation and the domain of corporate governance.  Students will learn about the process of selection, orientation and operations for members of the board of directors of a public corporation, as well as the work of a board on strategic topics including:  executive pay, CEO assessment, executive recruitment and retention, succession planning, leadership development and talent processes, overall business strategy, legal compliance, and related maters.  The roles and responsibilities of the HR function will be identified in all of these domains.  Special attention will be given to current policy debates on various aspects of corporate governance and special challenges such as relations with institutional investors, international variation in policies and practices, ethics and corporate social responsibility.  Course readings will include scholarly articles, consulting studies, and original documents from the corporate world. 4 grad hours.

590CM. CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN HR ORGANIZATIONS. The course will be taught by two senior-level HR officers, Jill Smart (Accenture) and Jim Schultz (recently retired from Walgreen’s), as well as guest speakers. Topics will include HR Strategy (meshing HR planning with business planning— e.g., mission, vision, values, environmental scanning, SWOT analysis; strategic imperatives, and metrics); Human Behavior as It Relates to Implementing Change; HR in a Multi-Polar World: Utilizing Research About Workers; the Employee Value Proposition; Talent Management: What Does It Really Mean and How Do We Do It?; Strategies for Managing Workforce Diversity: Race, Disability, Immigration, Age and Gender; and other, related topics. The class will likely have an intensive group project, with the expectation that teams will make a presentation near the end of the semester. Prof. LeRoy will be the resident coordinator for the course. 4 grad hours.

590E. GOVERNMENT REGULATION AND EMPLOYMENT LAW. Focus is on employment law. Topics covered include employee benefits with special emphasis on health insurance; occupational health and safety issues and various employment contractual obligations, statutory exceptions to employment at will; retirement issues including mandatory retirement, ERISA, private pensions and pension benefit discrimination. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. 4 grad hours.

590ECA Employment and Commercial Arbitration: Past, Present, and Future This course explores the interrelationship between commercial and employment arbitration. Arbitration is a private justice system. It is relevant because many employers require employees to sign away their right to sue, and to submit disputes to binding arbitration. The course begins in medieval England, when the Statute of the Staple of 1339 allowed businesses to avoid court and to settle disputes by arbitration. An important law, enacted at the behest of William III, created the roots of the present laws that govern arbitration. This history is related to current uses of arbitration. A central question in the course is whether employment and commercial arbitrations are analogous. Both involve business relationships; and the course also shows how certain employment laws draw directly from commercial law principles. But businesses are usually able to negotiate with each other, and also have more freedom to create fair and just arbitration systems. Employees, in contrast, have little or no negotiating power with their employer, and are often forced to take whatever system the employer provides.

590EL. HR, EMPLOYMENT LAW AND THE MULTICULTURAL CORPORATION. Multinational corporations face the challenge of operating across multiple legal jurisdictions, which pose particularly complicated situations for human resource management.  Employees in these different jurisdictions may be doing work that is highly interdependent, but they are subject to widely varying employment law.  This seminar will feature a series of special topics in employment law ranging from fair dismissal to privacy to employee involvement, with guest corporate executives discussing the specific challenges of simultaneously operating across legal jurisdictions.  Underlying principles from comparative employment law will provide a context for the sessions. 2 grad hours.

590EO. STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANIZATION. Using the case method, this course will apply human resource principles and practices to entrepreneurial firms throughout their various developmental stages. The course will center around three stages in the life cycle of an entrepreneurial firm: organizational infancy (1-10 employees); growth and institutionalization (50- 150 employees); going global or being acquired by a much larger company (over 500 employees). Employing class lectures, case material analysis and discussion and guest speakers, the course will provide students with the understanding of the specific human resource needs at each of these organizational phases. In doing so, the course will illustrate the important strategic role of human resource management and its potential contribution to the sustainability and competitive advantage of entrepreneurial firms. 4 grad hours.

590EU. Understanding Engineers: An Introduction to Engineering Thought, Practice, and Motivation.Most of the world’s leading employers depend on engineers and applied scientists to design new products and services and develop and maintain effective operations.  Human resource leaders are charged with attracting, motivating, developing, and retaining these individuals, as well as partnering with them on large-scale systems change.  This course provides insider insight into the way engineers think and feel about the work they do.  The course includes methodological background on the nature of engineering work, engineering as an analytical, integrative, and generative thought process.  The course includes historical background upon the evolution of engineering as a practice, engineering as a profession, and engineering as a distinctive way of thinking from basic science as well as engineering's interrelation to the development of modern business practice.  The course includes motivational reflection upon a number of ways in which engineering can be a satisfying occupation, seeking to understand the emotional satisfaction of complex design and problem solving as well as the social satisfaction of working in complex team settings with mixed and varied expertise.  The course uses landmark books and papers, simplified hands-on assignments, outside guest visitors and panels, and digital and social media to gain these insights, and the course concludes with reflections on recent changes in technological employment and how human resource leaders can help engineers--both recent graduates and experienced practitioners--align with the pace and challenge of 21st century practice.

590I. COMPENSATION AND PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES. The purpose of this course is to provide an in-depth understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different performance incentive plans. The first part of the course will focus on several theoretical issues that are useful in evaluating different performance incentive plans. Following the theoretical framework, each type of performance incentive plan will be studied in depth. This will include details regarding the design and administration of the plan and identifying situations where each plan is most appropriate. This will be accomplished through the discussion of the cases and evaluation of the plan's features using the theoretical models discussed in the first part of the class. Major topics include: (1) Theoretical issues that encompass the objectives of performance incentive plans: firm v. worker perspective, the role of risk-sharing and risk aversion in the design of incentive plans, aligning individual performance measures with firm objectives, trade-off between "objective" and "subjective" performance measures, free-riding in group compensation systems, and organizational change & the implementation of incentive performance plans; (2) Gainsharing plans; (3) Bonus & profit-sharing plans; (4) Stock & stock option plans; (5) Linking pension & incentive performance plans. Graduate standing. 4 grad hours.

590N. HEALTH, SAVINGS AND FAMILY ISSUES IN THE WORKPLACE. A substantial part of employees' compensation comes in the form on non-wage benefits, such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time-off from work. The goal of this course is to introduce students to some of the major features of employee benefits and work-family issues, including what choices are available to firms in the provision of benefits, what choices firms can offer their employees, and what are the incentives and consequences created by these different choices. The course will also discuss timely public policy issues, such as rising health care costs, Social Security and pension reform, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. 4 grad hours.

590PM. Project Management for HR ProfessionalsThis course advances understanding and skills in project management in three ways that are relevant to HR professionals. First, the course reviews the basic principles and tools of project management (such as Gantt Charts, Critical Path Analysis, Milestone Tracking, Staff and Budget Analysis, and others). Understanding these aspects of project management is crucial if HR professionals are to effectively contribute to larger projects taking place in their organizations, including implementation of new IT systems, redesign for work and material flow, and other major projects involving project management. Second, the course supports application of project management tools and methods for HR projects, such as new program implementation in areas such as the launch of a new benefit system, implementation of a new HRIS, implementation of a new safety initiative, launch of a new training program, and others. Third, the course examines human resources issues that can impact on project management success, such as team dynamics, leadership, reward systems, and others. The bottom line is a more effective HR professional through increased literacy and capability with project management.

590RE. READINGS IN THE ECONOMICS OF HUMAN RESOURCES.During the past few years there have been a number of books in economics that have made the Top Ten sellers lists.  While most have not been specifically focused on human resources, they have provided many ideas that are important for the well trained human resource manager to understand. This course will be your opportunity to expand your education outside of textbooks to focus on important current problems.  We will focus on readings and discussion.  The course will meet for two hours once each week for 8 weeks.  During the two hours we will discuss the readings for the week, much like a book club.

591. EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS SYSTEMS. A general framework for the analysis of employment relationships. Topics include industrial relations theory, the American system of collective bargaining, inter-country system differences, and human resource management strategies and practices. Prerequisite: Graduate standing. 4 grad hours.

592. RESEARCH METHODS IN LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS. Systematic analysis of theories and procedures of the various social and physical sciences bearing on research in labor and industrial relations; primary emphasis on the process of integrating the approaches and techniques of the various social sciences with respect to the study of problems in labor and industrial relations as met in practice in management, the union, and government service, as well as in teaching and research in the field. Prerequisite: Major in social sciences or consent of instructor. 4 grad hours.

593. QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS. Application of statistical methods to problems in human resources and industrial relations. Analysis and presentation of results using computer software. Covers statistical techniques through analysis of variance and multiple regression. Prerequisite: Any elementary statistics course. 4 grad hours.

595. MANAGING DIVERSITY GLOBALLY. Over the past four decades organizational approaches to managing workforce diversity have evolved from meeting the requirements of Title VII law to nurturing effective and diverse work groups as a business necessity. The challenge for managers is to understand the various aspects of diversity and its consequences in organizations. The purpose of this course is to provide an in-depth understanding of how the Human Resource Management function can contribute to leveraging diversity as a competitive advantage. Each week we will examine various HR functions in relation to diversity management practices. By the end of this course students will have a holistic appreciation of the HR tools necessary to implement effective diversity management practices. 4 grad hours.

597. MANAGING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE. Managing employee performance effectively is one of the most complex and challenging issues facing companies today. To quote a famous professor - "The appraisal of performance appraisal is not good". The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the challenges, opportunities, and pitfalls that govern the implementation of these systems in the present business context. The course also aims at providing students with practical and conceptual tools that will aid them in future endeavors to design and implement performance management systems. The course format includes, in-class discussions, case studies, and individual assignments and papers. 4 grad hours.

598. DESIGNING HIGH-INVOLVEMENT WORKPLACES. Intensive analysis of strategies for enhancing the involvement and commitment of employees in work organizations. Focus is on the design of jobs, work teams, feedback programs, and reward systems that contribute to employee well being and to organizational effectiveness. 4 grad hours.

599. THESIS SEMINAR. For all students writing theses in labor and industrial relations at the M.H.R.I.R. and Ph.D. levels. 0 to 16 hours. May be repeated. Approved for S/U grading only.